Holmes Takes on Tiger Wednesday

MARANA, Ariz. (AP) - J.B. Holmes was on his way to registerMonday for the Accenture Match Play Championship when he bumpedinto Masters champion Zach Johnson, who stopped in mock surprise. "Wow! So you did decide to show up," Johnson said to him. Holmes has taken this kind of teasing since the 64-man field atDove Mountain became official Friday and he unofficially became thesacrificial lamb, the No. 64 seed who has to face top-ranked TigerWoods in the opening round. But the 25-year-old from Kentucky with Paul Bunyan length offthe tee doesn't look at it that way. He only sees an oasis in this desert course above Tucson, anopportunity to deliver a 1-2 punch in Arizona. It was only twoweeks ago that Holmes knocked out Phil Mickelson in a sudden-deathplayoff to win the FBR Open, which essentially amounted to matchplay. "Except that if you screw up once, you don't get anotherchance," Holmes said. "Match play is a little more forgiving thanthat. You can go down a couple of holes and come back and still dowell in the end." Woods has won seven of the last eight times he has played,including his unofficial Target World Challenge. But if ever therewas a tournament where - with apologies to Rory Sabbatini - Woodsis "more beatable than ever," this is it. Anything goes over 18 holes, especially in match play where noone knows who will show up with his best golf, or his worst. Woodshas played this tournament nine times and only reached the finalthree times, winning in 2003 and 2004. He lost in the first round to Peter O'Malley in 2002, wasknocked out in second round by Nick O'Hern in 2005 and waseliminated by O'Hern in the third round a year ago. None of those players can be regarded as world-beaters, andwhile Holmes' resume is a work in progress, he is coming off avictory outside Phoenix when he overwhelmed the TPC Scottsdale withhis length, particularly in the playoff against Mickelson. And it doesn't hurt that The Gallery is a haven for guys who canhammer it. A year ago, Henrik Stenson defeated Geoff Ogilvy in thechampionship match. "Two short knockers," Steve Stricker said with a grin. "Itwas meant for guys who hit it a long way." No matter the course or the opponent, Holmes is simply happy tobe in his first World Golf Championship, where all it takes is sixmatches to capture the $1.35 million prize. He wasn't even in the top 100 until winning the FBR Open, andonly got into the 64-man field when Brett Wetterich withdrewbecause of a shoulder injury. So a first-round match with Woods isnothing to complain about. "Anytime you get a chance to play against the best player inany profession, you have to be doing pretty good to even have thatopportunity," Holmes said. "I'm just excited to be able to go outand play and see what I can do. I've never seen him up close andwatched him play. I get to see and maybe compare a little bit, andsee what I need to improve on." Holmes' length is prodigious. He recently told how he reachedthe 542-yard 18th hole at Valhalla in two with a pitching wedge,and he hit one tee shot 389 yards last week at Riviera, the wind athis back on a firm fairway. Woods arrived at midday and played his practice round, catchingup to join a most appropriate person, Richard Green. Perhaps it wasonly a coincidence that Green is Australian and left-handed, acombination Woods has yet to conquer in this format (O'Hern is thesame). There was one nervous moment for Woods on the par-4 ninth, whenhis 3-wood found a bunker and he decided to hit another one.Halfway down his swing, he tried to stop when he heard the click ofa camera from a fan in the gallery, and he winced and grabbed hisside. He told his caddie to pick up the ball, and Woods walked downthe fairway stretching out his right arm. The other issue is his driver, which cracked during his victoryin Dubai earlier this month. Swing coach Hank Haney, in town for a few days, said with Woods'swing speed, it usually takes 1,500 to 2,000 strikes before adriver will crack. "The driver is at its hottest right before itbreaks," Haney said. "But I think he likes this one." The only thing that matters to Woods, Holmes or anyone else issimply to keep playing as long as possible. Mickelson, the No. 2 seed and coming off a victory at Riviera,meets Pat Perez in the battle of San Diego public kids. Stricker isthe No. 3 seed and gets a rematch of sorts with Daniel Chopra, whobeat him in a playoff at the season-opening Mercedes-BenzChampionship. Ernie Els is No. 4 and will play Jonathan Byrd. Picking a winner is about as easy as predicting weather on alate summer afternoon in the South. With so much parity in golf,they say there is no such thing as an upset. But there's plenty of players who will be upset on Wednesday,namely the 32 guys going home. "When you do get beat in this situation, it tends to hurt a lotmore," said Stricker, who won the Match Play in Australia in 2001."I don't know why. One guy beats you. But it does. It hurtsmore."

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